1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements of mapping-data analyzing methods, programs, and apparatuses.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to examine the distribution of substances, defects, and so forth on the surface of a specimen, mapping measurement using a spectrometer is commonly performed. For example, in infrared microscopy, by irradiating a minute region on a specimen surface with infrared light and detecting the transmitted light or the light reflected therefrom, an infrared spectrum of the minute region can be collected. By moving the measuring region on the specimen or by using a two-dimensional detector, infrared spectra can be collected from each point on the specimen surface, and the distribution of substances can thus be examined.
When displaying the mapping measurement results as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional map, specific peaks are found in the infrared spectra obtained and the map is created based on the height of the peaks, the area of the peaks, and so on (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 07-151678). In other words, the map is displayed using only an extremely small part of the information in the measured spectra.
Extracting only specific peaks in this way means that only information about certain functional groups is displayed, and therefore, only a small part of the features in the entire spectrum is considered; that is, most of the information is discarded. In addition, since spectra normally contain multiple peaks, it is necessary to identify to which functional group or chemical bond the peak of interest corresponds. However, the peak of interest may overlap with another peak, which makes it difficult to assign the peaks, and therefore, subjective analysis must be relied upon to some extent. Also, when examining defects or flaws in the specimen, in many cases the defects exhibit different characteristics from other regions. Since it is unclear, prior to measurement, how the characteristics differ, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of the entire spectrum.